Secrets and Stones
by Zeroththesith
Summary: The gang is back, and their second year at Hogwarts is about to get rocky. The Champer of Secrets is open and all four of them are at risk. Not only that, but Kaede's got a problem from the future and it's drawn the attention of her sister.
1. A New Adventure

**Chapter 1A: A New Adventure**

Lee was hiking through the jungle, trying to find where her dragon had run off to. Peat had developed a habit of scuttling away when he saw something he wanted to hunt. Her instincts kicked in the moment she heard a yelp. Lee ran towards the noise, holding her wand tight. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Peat had just gotten too close to his quarry and got nipped.

"That's what you get for running off," Lee scolded. "Let's get back to camp. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I still don't see why you put up with these things," Cora stated.

"Don't you dare start," Lee grumbled, pulling a small mirror from her pocket. "You've been quiet enough to not give me a headache all summer. Don't start now."

"Rude much?" Cora replied, appearing in the mirror, along with Alban.

"Maybe she wouldn't be rude if you would be quiet." Alban suggested sharply.

"That statement goes double for you, you know," Lee pointed out, picking up a stick to use as a walking stick.

A small clearing came into view. There was a large open tent pitched in the clearing. Next to the tent, a huge dragon was sleeping in the sun.

"Aero Shield, I got Peat." Lee called, causing the dragon to perk up. "Can you watch him while I start lunch?"

As Lee entered her tent, she beamed upon seeing a letter in her hammock. She picked it up and opened it eagerly. It was the letter for her second year at Hogwarts.

"Gang, we're leaving for Diagon Alley tomorrow!" Lee called. "Make sure you set an example for our newest member when we get there!"

Harmony jumped in excitement when she saw the letter from Hogwarts. An elated shriek escaped her lips as she tore open the envelope. She didn't do well in classes, but it was fun to go there with her friends.

"Harmony, I know you're excited to be going to Hogwarts again, but please don't shriek like that," her father pleaded with the twelve-year-old.

"Sorry Dad," Harmony replied, "I'm just excited to see everyone again. Lee even said that she had a surprise to show us."

"You seem close with these friends." her mother stated skeptically. "Hogwarts won't lead to you breaking out rules, will it?"

"No," Harmony replied sharply. "I just happened to have found some friends that I feel close with."

Harmony ran to her room and grabbed the Hogwarts letter. It provided the list of spell books she'd need. It seemed odd that there were so many books by a wizard named Gilderoy Lockhart. Harmony was pulled from the letter when her tablet buzzed. She opened it to find Lee on the screen.

"Hiya Harm," she said cheerfully. "I found this nifty video setting on my pet identifier."

"I can see." Harmony replied. "Did you get your letter?"

"Yup. I found it in my tent this morning. I'm leaving the jungle tomorrow to fly back to London."

"Neat. So, what's the surprise you wrote to us about?" Harmony inquired.

"You'll find out when we meet on the Hogwarts Express," Lee answered. "Hang on, there's a trouble maker I need to deal with."

Lee vanished from the screen. Harmony could hear her yelling at Peat and the constant rustling of leaves.

"Peat, don't you dare go chasing that pygmy squirrel!"

She came back onto the screen holding the wriggling Bog Worm. Harmony could tell by the irritated look on her friend's face that this happened frequently on the trip.

"I'm guessing he has a habit of chasing small rodents," Harmony stated bluntly.

"Yes," Lee sighed, "It's the predator in him, but it's almost as annoying as Pansy."

"C'mon, there's no way sweet, little Peat could almost be as annoying as your nemesis," Harmony debated.

"He's not little," Lee deadpanned. "He's almost six feet long."

They sat there talking for hours. Lee described her expeditions in the jungle and the different critters she'd encountered. Harmony told her about the boring piles of paperwork she'd been doing all summer. When the sun began to set on Lee's end, she had to hang up to eat dinner and make preparations for the flight to London.

The next day, Lee was sitting in her saddle while Jewel flew over the jungle. It had been an amazing summer, and she was ready to see all her friends at school again, not to mention the money she'd earned for her research. Lee laid flat on Jewel's back and looked at the clouds passing by. To her, there was nothing more soothing than a vast, open sky. The day brushed by quietly and Lee made it to London. She checked into a room at the Leaky Cauldron and collapsed on the bed. She was surprised to wake up in the morning with four letters on her forehead. The first three were from Sarah, Kaede and Harmony. The fourth was from Harry and Ron. She read them all through happily. They were all coming to Diagon Alley in a few days. Lee decided to get her shopping out of the way that day and meet them all when they came.

Harmony was ready to go when it was time for her to go to Diagon Alley. Lee had written back saying that she was looking forward to meeting in London. Her parents were letting her go on her own with the floo powder. Harmony grabbed a bag and went over to the fireplace.

"Do you have everything?" Her mother asked.

"Yup," Harmony answered. "I didn't forget a single thing."

"All right, be careful and don't break any rules."

"I'll be fine, Mom," Harmony reassured her.

She stepped into the fireplace and traveled to Diagon Alley. Harmony stepped out into the busy streets and found Lee waiting at the steps of Gringotts. Lee ran forward and embraced her friend.

"Nice to see you again Harm," Lee said happily.

"Nice to see you too," Harmony replied. "How was Africa?"

"Fun," Lee answered. "The gang and I loved it."

"So, what was the surprise you were going to show us?"

"You'll see on the train," Lee replied, evading the question. "Now come on, everyone will be waiting at Flourish and Blotts."

Harmony got her money from the bank and they ran through the busy streets, into the crowded bookshop.

"Why are there so many women here?" Harmony inquired.

"Some heartthrob author is signing books," Lee answered. "There's the Weasleys and Harry."

Lee nearly tackled Harry, Ron and Hermione in a hug. Harmony came over and gave the three of them a wave instead.

"Hi guys," Lee said. "How was your summer?"

"Great, though, I can't wait to get the books," Hermione answered.

"It was great. Did you get our letter about rescuing Harry from his aunt and uncle?" Ron replied.

"Yes, I did," Lee confirmed. "Why would you not invite me to get Harry with a flying car?!"

"They got in trouble for it later, so it wouldn't have been all that great," Harry interjected.

While they talked, Sarah entered the bookshop and joined them. The three friends were about to start conversation when the book shop began erupting into applause as a man with gold hair and a smug face entered the shop. He took a seat at the front and Lee, Harmony, and Sarah watched the witches swoon.

"That's Gilderoy Lockhart," Ron whispered. "Mum fancies him."

"Cute," Lee replied sarcastically.

The man at the front quickly noticed Harry in the crowd and a reporter tossed him to the front for pictures. Lee rolled her eyes as Lockhart flashed a glassy smile. She could tell she didn't like this character.

"I would also like to announce that I'm assuming the post of defense against the dark arts teacher at Hogwarts this term," Lockhart said jovially, causing Lee to groan.

"Please tell me that idiot is not going to be our teacher," Lee whispered.

"I think that idiot is going to be our teacher," Harmony replied.

"At least we know that the class will be...interesting," Sarah stated.

They walked out with their friends only to be cornered at the door by none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you Potter?" Draco spat. "Famous Harry Potter, can't even go to a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone," Ginny retorted.

"Oh, look Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend," he taunted.

He was interrupted by a cane, pulling him away from the group.

"Now, now Draco, play nicely," Mr. Malfoy scolded.

The three girls looked from him to Draco. There was no mistaking that he was his father. Sarah glared daggers at Mr. Malfoy, who had taken an interest in Harry's scar.

"Your scar is legend, as is the wizard who gave it to you," he stated, in a way that unnerved Lee.

"Voldemort killed my parents," Harry retorted, pulling away from Lucius. "He was nothing more than a murderer."

"You are very brave to speak his name," Lucius replied. "Or very foolish."

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," Hermione interjected.

"Ah, you must be...Ms. Granger," Lucius said, eyeing Hermione's scowl. "Yes, Draco's told me all about you, and your parents. Muggles, aren't they?"

Lee and Sarah glanced at each other. Clearly, Draco's apple didn't fall far from the tree. His father appeared to loathe muggleborns. They didn't need to think hard to know that was where Draco inherited his prejudices.

"Let me see, red hair, vacant expression," Lucius stated, turning to Ron and taking Ginny's book. "Tacky, second hand book. You must be the Weasleys."

Sarah felt her blood boil as Lucius describe the Weasleys in his own, twisted way. Before she could think about what she was going to do, she spoke.

"Why don't you shut up," Sarah snapped at Lucius.

"And who might you be?" He inquired, trying to mask his offense.

"The name's Sarah," she replied firmly, "and I don't appreciate how you're talking about my friends."

"Ah, Sarah. Draco's told me about you before," Lucius retorted. "You seemed to take some joy in making him look foolish. I think you should watch yourself this year."

"And why would she need to do that?" Lee inquired.

"Allow me to guess which person you are...Lee, isn't it?" Lucius asked. "Draco speaks highly of you. I'm curious about the kind of dragons you have in your collection."

"You should really hope I never show you," Lee growled, "and it's not a collection."

Harmony steered Lee outside the shop to keep her from getting into a confrontation. Sarah followed them, pausing for a moment to glare daggers at Lucius Malfoy.

"Maybe you should work on that temper of yours," Harmony suggested. "You basically threatened to burn him."

"It's only a threat if he takes it as a threat," Lee retorted. "Besides, I wanted him to shut up."

"So you threatened him," Sarah stated.

"Okay, fine, I threatened him," Lee relented. "What did you expect me to do? He threatened you first, I was just returning the favor."

Sarah and Harmony rolled their eyes at Lee. As they were leaving, a fight erupted in Flourish and Blotts. They turned back toward the door and saw Mr. Weasley fighting with Mr. Malfoy. Fred and George were cheering their father on as Hagrid came and pulled them apart.

The three friends walked around the alley and picked up Sarah and Harmony's school supplies. As they bought the final materials the two of them required for school, Lee took them into the Trainer's Supply Store. They were greeted by the owner cheerfully.

"What can I get you, Lee?" she asked.

"I need some special equipment," Lee answered. "What've you got in terms of harvesting dragon scales?"

"Planning to take advantage of your companions, are you?" She chuckled.

"The molted and shed scales are useful," Lee replied. "Besides, Jewel's been having growth spurts all summer."

The owner disappeared to a back room and came back with a small case and placed it on the table for Lee to look at. There was a pestle, a mortar, several vials and flasks, and something that looked like a scraper. The end was forked and it curved up almost like a shovel. Lee smiled at the kit and closed the case.

"This should work well," she stated. "How much is it?"

"It's ten galleons," the owner answered. "Use it with the proper grooming materials and you'll have some of the rarest potion ingredients."

Lee handed her the gold coins and placed the kit in her backpack. Harmony gave her friend a quizzical look and followed her back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Why do you want to harvest their scales?" Harmony asked.

"Old dragon scales are useful in specific potions," Lee explained. "Those potions are very useful when I'm out traveling."

Harmony shrugged her shoulders and sat at a table in the inn with Lee and Sarah. Tom brought them some soup over for dinner. The three friends talked about the upcoming school year. All were excited to see Kaede again. Now that they were second years, Sarah was looking forward to playing quidditch, as Oliver Wood had appointed her to play on the team for their second year.

"Why would you want to play quidditch? It's so active," Harmony groaned.

"Because flying is fun; from a dragon or a broom," Lee replied in Sarah's defense.

"And because it's fun having something competitive to do," Sarah added. "I look forward to kicking the Slytherin team's butt!"

"Why would you say that in front of your two best friends that are Slytherins?" Lee chuckled.

"Do you like being in Slytherin?" Sarah asked, getting Lee to shake her head. "Then you aren't a Slytherin."

"But Harm's still a Slytherin."

"Mostly because I was too lazy to tell the hat where to put me," Harmony shrugged.

"See, Lee?" Sarah replied with a smirk. "The both of you don't really belong in Slytherin, you just got put there for some stupid reason or another."

"All right, fine," she relented. "Just make sure to kick their sorry behinds."

"I will never understand the two of you," Harmony sighed.

"Well, it's a mutual feeling," Sarah chuckled.

"Definitely. I've never met a twelve-year-old as lazy as you," Lee added.

"I'm not lazy, I'm just selective of what work I do," Harmony stated.

"Which is none of it," Sarah deadpanned.

"That's not true!" Harmony said defensively. "It's just very little of it."

The three girls continued to poke fun at each other. They had met only a year ago, but had formed a deep friendship in that year. As the sun began to set, Harmony and Sarah bid a farewell to Lee and used the floo powder to travel back home. They were already excited to see each other on the train again in a few weeks. When Lee entered her room to catch some sleep for the night, she was tackled in a blur of colors.

"How'd you get out of your carrier?!" Lee laughed as it started licking her. "Stop it! That tickles!"

The weeks flew by and in no time it was September first. Lee and Sarah woke up promptly in their rooms. Sarah gathered her trunk and her backpack before running down to the living room of her house. Her aunt stopped her before letting her use the floo network to travel back to London.

"Sarah, you need to promise to be good this year," her aunt said firmly, "I don't want more letters telling me you've been pranking other students."

"I promise I'll be good," Sarah replied innocently, crossing her fingers behind her leg. "Now, I gotta go. I can't miss the train."

"Say 'hi' to those friends of yours for me."

Lee lugged her trunk down the stairs of the inn with her rucksack slung over her shoulder. She double checked her rucksack to make sure she had her PAC Ball and her hand mirror. She didn't want those crazy voices giving her headaches.

"Heading off to King's Cross?" Tom asked from the bar.

"Yup. I'll probably see you next summer too," Lee answered, dragging her trunk out of the Leaky Cauldron.

In Italy, Harmony was being shaken awake by her father. Harmony groaned and shrugged him off, grumbling about 'stupid marshmallows'. Her father let out an exasperated sigh and smacked his daughter with a pillow.

"What was that for?!" Harmony groaned.

"Get up Harmony," he ordered gently. "It's September first and we need to get you to King's Cross."

"Wait, it's September first?!" Harmony exclaimed, bolting out of bed. "Dad, don't just stand there! We need to get to the train station!"

Harmony's father shook his head as his daughter rushed around the room, hastily packing the things she'd forgot to put in her trunk. Harmony quickly checked her trunk before slamming it shut. She pulled it to the living room and waited for her parents.

Lee and Sarah met each other outside King's Cross. They both pushed their trolleys through the busy station towards the barrier to the Hogwarts express. They made it to the train without any problems and dragged their trunks to a compartment in the back of the train.

"So, what's the surprise?" Sarah asked, sitting on the bench. "You said you'd show us on the train."

"Wait until the others get here, then I'll show you," Lee replied.

"C'mon," Sarah groaned. "I promise I won't spoil it for the other two!"

"No," Lee said firmly.

Sarah 'humphed' and began to pout, causing Lee to burst into laughs.

"You are acting like such a little kid," she giggled.

"I am not!" Sarah whined.

"Sure, you're not."

They sat in the compartment and looked out onto the platform. The two girls waved and shouted out the window when they saw Harmony and Kaede come through the barrier. Harmony quickly covered her face when Sarah and Lee called to her from the train.

"I think we embarrassed Harmony," Lee chuckled.

"Isn't that what best friends are supposed to do?" Sarah replied.

There was a knock on the door and Harmony entered the compartment. Kaede came five minutes later. They quickly exchanged tales of their summer before the train began to move.

"So, what's the surprise you wrote to us about?" Kaede asked as the train pulled out of the station.

"Well, this year's gonna be interesting, dragon wise," Lee answered, pulling out her PAC ball.

A small from came from the small ball. Its entire body was a rainbow of colors. As soon as it was out of the PAC Ball, it began jumping around the compartment and climbing on the girls.

"Meet Lil' Nine," Lee announced as the dragon climbed onto her shoulders. "He's a Pup Dragon."

"Why did you name him Lil' Nine?" Kaede asked.

"So, a Pup Dragon is supposed to have four claws on each foot, but he has an extra claw on his front right foot," Lee explained. "That makes nine claws on the front, and he's little, so I called him Lil' Nine."

"He's so cute," Sarah commented. "So, do these dragons live in Africa?"

"Apparently," Lee stated. "Usually, they're only found in domestic settings, so imagine how surprised I was to come back from a hike and find him sleeping in my tent."

"Sounds like you had fun," Kaede stated. "I really didn't do much this summer. What about you two?"

"I helped my dad with paperwork," Harmony said with a shrug.

"I went climbing in the mountains back home," Sarah answered. "I may have also pulled some pranks."

"On who?" Lee inquired.

"Some kids from town," Sarah replied.

Sarah recounted the pranks she pulled on the kids. She had done some classic pranks, like putting a bucket of water over a doorway. Sarah had also pulled more elaborate pranks, some including Bigfoot. Her three friends erupted into laughs when she imitated the girly scream of one of her victims.

"That sounds like a very successful summer," Lee commented, getting a hold of her giggles.

"It was, until I got grounded," Sarah responded.

The girls were interrupted when someone knocked on the door to their compartment. Kaede looked through the blinds and grimaced.

"It's Malfoy," she grumbled.

"I'll handle it," Lee said, standing up from her seat.

Lee opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"Something we can help you with?" Lee asked tonelessly.

"I was wondering if you'd want to come down to our compartment and hang out," Draco replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, no thanks," she stated coldly. "I'm staying here with my friends."

"Harmony could come too, I suppose," Draco suggested quickly.

"N-O," Lee said firmly. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't like hanging out with prejudiced pigs, unless I was giving them an up close and personal look at a dragon's teeth."

Lee shut the door and returned to her seat. Lil' Nine was now sitting by the door, attempting to growl.

"That was cold," Kaede stated. "Did you have to be that mean?"

"Yes. He wouldn't go away unless I was," Lee answered.

"Maybe you fit into Slytherin more than you think," Harmony commented.

"Nah, that's just some of Cora's influence," Lee replied.

The trolley witch came passing by their compartment after a few minutes and they all bought some sweets. Lil' Nine looked at all of them expectantly, only to be whistled at by Lee.

"Your treat's right here you goof," she teased, holding up a pumpkin pasty.

The dragon opened his mouth and Lee threw it for him to catch. He jumped up quickly and chomped down on the pasty. Lil' Nine sat back down again, waiting for another treat.

Lee chuckled, "Sorry buddy, only one per train ride."

"Maybe you could give him a chocolate frog to chase," Sarah suggested.

"Not unless you want this compartment torn to shreds," Lee replied.

As the train neared their destination, the four of them quickly changed into their robes. Lil' Nine began chirruping furiously as Lee tried to put him back in the PAC Ball. He ran around the compartment and underneath the legs of everyone. Sarah, Kaede and Harmony suppressed some small chuckles as Lee let out a frustrated humph.

Lee glared at the three of them, "It's not funny."

"It kind of is," Sarah argued with a smirk.

"Why can't you just let him ride up to the castle with us?" Harmony asked. "He seems adamant about staying out of the PAC Ball."

"He'd rip the carrier to pieces," Lee replied.

The Pup Dragon stuck his head between Sarah's legs and seemed to be taunting his trainer. Lee seized her opportunity and pulled out her wand, firing a jinx at the dragon. He stood, frozen in his position while Lee gave a triumphant smile.

"That should teach you to listen when I say it's time to get in the PAC Ball," Lee stated, placing Lil' Nine in the small ball.

"You should feel lucky that you didn't miss," Sarah commented. "Otherwise I would've murdered you."

"I never miss," Lee said with a cocky smile.

As the train pulled into the station, the four of them got ready to go to the castle. None of them knew how they were getting up to the castle and followed a crowd of older students to find horseless carriages waiting for them. They clambered into one and it began moving up towards the castle.

"What do you think's pulling the carriages?" Kaede asked.

Lee pondered a moment before answering, "I'm not sure. It's either a charm or an invisible creature."

"I think an invisible creature seems cooler," Sarah commented. "Besides, I've never heard of any charms that make carriages pull themselves."

Their carriage followed the others until it arrived at the front steps of the castle. The four jumped out quickly and proceeded to the Great Hall. Sarah and Kaede were quickly called over to their house tables by other friends while Lee and Harmony returned to the seats they'd had last year at the end of Slytherin table. All of the second year and older students filed in and took their seats, waiting for the sorting to begin. The first years entered promptly with Professor McGonagall. Lee barely payed attention to the old hat, clapping unenthusiastically when a first year was added to Slytherin. They heard Sarah let out a gleeful 'whoop' as the hat sorted Ginny Weasley into Gryffindor. At the end of the sorting everyone began to dig into the feast.

"Hey look, the dragon mudblood's back!" Pansy snickered.

"She does realise that the word 'dragon' is plastered in that sentence, right?" Lee asked Harmony.

"Who knows?" Harmony shrugged. "Pansy strikes me as that kind of idiot."

The two continued to talk. Across the hall, Sarah was enjoying the feast with Hermione, Fred, George, and their little sister Ginny. She soon noticed that two people were missing from this picture.

"Has anyone seen Harry and Ron?" Sarah asked. "I haven't seen them anywhere."

Sir Nicholas popped his head through the table, startling a few first years, "They're eating in the dungeons. It seems that they missed the train and flew to school in a car."

"They what?!" The three girls shrieked.

Fred and George pouted, "No fair. Why didn't they invite us?"

"Really?" Hermione replied. "They broke the decree for underage sorcery, and they could've been expelled! They weren't expelled, were they?"

"No, but Professor McGonagall did give them detentions and a stern talking to," Nicholas answered.

Sarah rolled her eyes as Hermione began arguing with the twins. She was hoping that word of this didn't spread. Otherwise people would have a similar reaction to Fred and George and that would make Hermione even more mad. The students were rising from their seats and heading to their common rooms. Sarah glanced over at her friends, who all waved a quick farewell. This was the start of a new year. If Harry and Ron's transportation to the school was any indication, it was also the start of a new adventure.


	2. No Patience for Incompetence

**Chapter 2A: No Patience for Incompetence**

Lee, Harmony, and Sarah met outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, not expecting much from their new teacher. If the display at Flourish and Blotts had been any indication of his teaching method it would be a _very_ long year. The three of them entered quietly and took seats by the windows of the classroom. Professor Lockhart walked out from his office and glanced at the three girls with a huge smile.

"You three must be very excited for class," he said pompously.

Lee rolled her eyes before contradicting him. "Actually, I'm supposed to avoid large crowds and small spaces like the hallways."

Lockhart either pretended to not hear Lee or just tuned her out because he quickly pulled out three pictures of himself and signed them before handing them to Sarah, Lee, and Harmony.

"Could you have Aero Shield burn this for me?" Sarah whispered, passing Lee the photograph.

"Definitely. I was already planning on burning mine," Lee whispered back.

Harmony discreetly handed Lee hers as well. "Make sure to use Aero Shield. That smile of his is _way_ too white."

Lee gave her friends a wink and shoved them roughly into her bag. Lockhart wasn't paying attention to them anymore. He was already back in his office. Sarah glanced over her shoulder before jotting a note and passing it to Lee. Lee read it quickly before an evil grin spread across her face.

"Your mind works in very mischievous ways," Lee commented, pulling out her PAC Ball. "Five knuts says he shrieks like a banshee."

"You're on!" Sarah agreed.

Harmony saw Lee release Peat. The Bog Worm went slithering by the door of the office. Peat looked back for reaffirmation from his trainer who quickly gave him the go ahead. Sarah and Lee glanced down at their books and seconds later a shrill shriek came from Lockhart's office.

"Harmony, you're our impartial judge," Sarah stated. "Would you say he shrieked like a banshee?"

She paused to think about it, "No. It wasn't shrill enough, though it _was _very close."

Lee pulled the five knuts from her pocket and handed them to Sarah. Peat came scurrying out of the office, a few spells being shot after him. Lee swooped down and grabbed him, holding him protectively. Lockhart came barreling after him and stopped when he saw Lee holding Peat.

"You need to put that down," Lockhart warned. "It's dangerous."

Lee scoffed a little and scratched him behind the ears. "Sorry, Peat must've gotten out of my PAC Ball. Trust me, he's a harmless as a Cornish Pixie."

"That is a dragon. They are VERY dangerous," he argued.

"He's my dragon," Lee stated. "Trust me, he's not dangerous unless he's told to be dangerous."

Lee sat back down and placed Peat on her lap. He narrowed his eyes at the professor while Sarah scratched him underneath the chin.

"Good work Peat," Lee whispered. "I'll make sure to give you some extra chicken tonight."

Students began filing in as the bell rang. Hermione took a seat at the front with many other girls while most of the boys sat in the back. Lockhart jumped into his lesson, if it could even be called that.

"Me," Lockhart said, pointing at the book _Traveling with Trolls_ and winking at the students. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's _Most-Charming-Smile Awardㅡbut I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling_ at her!"

He seemed to be waiting for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly. Lee turned to Sarah and made a small gagging motion. How was this idiot their _teacher_?!

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my booksㅡwell done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry aboutㅡjust to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken inㅡ"

Lockhart handed them their papers. Lee had been expecting questions like 'What spell can be used to defeat a troll?'. She was not expecting a question like 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?'

"You have thirty minutes," Lockhart stated from the front of the class. "Startㅡ_now_!"

Sarah glanced at Lee with complete disbelief on her face. Lee shrugged her shoulders and put her name at the top of the quiz. The questions were all based on Lockhart. There was absolutely _nothing_ that had to do with magic mentioned anywhere! The thirty minutes passed and they handed Lockhart the papers without a word. He quickly made a small 'tut tut' and stated how obvious the answers were and what books they needed to reread. Harmony turned back to her friends.

"Is this guy for real?" Harmony asked. "He has about as many brains as a ghoul."

"Maybe he actually has some semblance of a brain?" Lee asked with some hope. "Maybe he just has an incredibly big ego?"

Sarah leaned over to her friends. "I seriously doubt it."

They turned their attention back to the front when Lockhart put a small, covered cage on his desk.

"Nowㅡbe warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

Lee leaned forward in her desk, slightly intrigued by Lockhart's speech. Maybe there was some hope for this professor.

"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."

The entire class held its breath as he pulled the cover off the cage. Lee's small hope was quickly dashed when she saw just how over dramatic Lockhart had been in his description of the creatures they'd be dealing with.

"Yes," he said dramatically. "_Freshly caught Cornish pixies._"

Seamus Finnigan lost control of himself and burst into laughter. Sarah slumped back in her chair and smirked. She had to agree with Seamus. There was nothing terrifying about the pixies. She'd seen Lee handle dragons for crying out loud!

"Yes?" Lockhart smiled at Seamus.

Well, they're notㅡthey're not veryㅡ_dangerous_, are they?" Seamus choked.

"Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart, waggling an annoying finger at Seamus. "Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"

"Please!" Lee scoffed, drawing attention to their corner of the room. "I've handled more dangerous creatures without a wand. If you're a competent enough wizard they're about as harmless as a fly."

"And what makes you such an expert?" Lockhart asked with some hidden anger.

"I'm twelve and I have a dragon-class training license," Lee deadpanned. "And I think this is a waste of my time."

With that, Lee grabbed her bag and left the classroom with Peat close on her heels. Sarah was a little surprised. Her friend usually showed more respect to the professors than that. The professor seemed in a state of shock. It ended a moment later and he returned the class's attention to the pixies.

"Right then," he pronounced loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.

The moment the door opened the classroom was thrown into pandemonium. The pixies shot everywhere like rockets! Sarah and Harmony ducked under their desks and watched as two pixies lifted Neville by the ears and hung him on the chandelier. Others shot through the windows while others wrecked the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino!

"Come on nowㅡround them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted to the class.

His words had no effect. Lockhart clearly saw this.

He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand and bellowed, "_Peskipiksi Pesternomi!_"

His spell didn't do anything to the pixies; one of them seized his wand and threw it out the window too. The teacher finally dived under his own desk, narrowly avoiding Neville, who had fallen from the chandelier.

As soon as the bell rang every student made a mad rush for the exit. There was a relative calm that followed. Harmony and Sarah made it to the door as Lockhart put Harry, Ron and Hermione on pixie duty.

"Does that man have any competence?!" Harmony shrieked. "Who releases a bunch of pixies in a classroom and expects the students to be able to handle them, especially when they haven't taught anything USEFUL?!"

"Are you done with your rant?" Sarah asked bluntly, getting a nod from Harmony. "Good. Lee was right. This was an absolute waste of time."

Harmony smiled bitterly. "And that waste of time is our teacher for the entire term."

The two slumped down to their next class and found Lee sitting in the classroom.

"I'm guessing the class was a disaster," Lee stated.

"Right from when he opened the cage," Sarah confirmed. "How'd you get away with ditching class?"

Lee shrugged. "I didn't. McGonagall says I have to help fix the animals in her transfiguration classes for a week. I'll talk to Dumbledore about Lockhart later though."

"I doubt Dumbledore will let you get away with ditching DADA," Harmony stated.

Lee gave another shrug and the bell rang, beginning the class. It passed in an instant, as did the other classes of the day. The four friends met each other outside of the Great Hall in the light of the torches. Their bags were already full of homework, books and quills.

As Lee sifted through the papers in her bag and quickly pulled out a crumpled picture of their new professor. "I forgot about these. I believe we need to burn them."

"Why are you burning pictures?" Kaede asked.

."Lockhart gave them to us, thinking we were fangirls because we got to class early," Sarah explained.

Kaede let out a small 'oh' and they went to one of the torches along the wall. Lee let Aero Shield out of the Pac Ball and had him lay on the floor. The dragon breathed a small bit of flame onto the three photos and Lee shoved them into the torch.

"That takes care of that," Sarah said, clapping her hands. "Who's hungry? Dinner's about to start soon."


	3. Hypocrisy

Chapter 3: Hypocrisy

The week passed quickly. Sarah found herself being shaken awake at the crack of dawn on Saturday. Katie Bell was standing above her, looking absolutely disheveled. Sarah moaned before rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on? Why are you waking me up?"

Katie made a small yawn. "Wood's making us get up for training. Get your broom and your robes. We'll be down at the pitch."

Sarah pulled herself from bed and trudged down to the pitch. She bumped into Harry, who was being tailed by a first year named Colin.

"Please tell me this isn't how training usually starts," Sarah groaned.

"It wasn't like this last year," Harry replied. "Oliver had better have a good reason for this."

They entered the locker rooms and listened as Oliver began his lecture. He began talking about how they didn't manage to win due to uncontrollable circumstances and how they'd train harder this year and win for sure. As he droned on, Sarah zoned out. Fred Weasley began snoring on Alicia Spinnet's shoulder, and Sarah fell asleep on his. She woke with a start when Fred jerked his head up. They followed the others, grabbing their brooms and marching onto the field. Sarah caught sight of Lee, Kaede with Hermione and Ron. Hermione and Ron had some toast and marmalade, making Sarah's stomach grumble.

"Aren't you finished yet?" Ron asked Harry.

"We haven't even started," Harry answered.

Sarah mounted her broom and kicked off from the ground. The sudden rush of wind made her wake up just a little. They kept circling around and drilling the new moves Wood had told them. They stopped when they saw the Slytherin team marching onto the field. Oliver seemed furious. They all landed..

"Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"

Flint had a look of troll-ish cunning on his face as he replied, "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."

Everyone on the team seemed to be gathering behind Oliver.

"But I booked the field!" Said Wood, practically foaming at the mouth. "I booked it!"

"Ah," said Flint. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. 'I Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the quidditch field owing to the need to train their new seeker.'"

Wood quickly asked who the new seeker was and it was revealed to be Draco Malfoy. When Marcus mentioned how the brooms were a gift from Lucius, the pieces clicked in Sarah's brain. The little weasel bribed his way onto the team!

"Oh, look," said Flint, "A field invasion."

The others had come down onto the field to investigate. Lil' Nine was at Lee's heel.

"What's happening? Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"

Ron was looking at Malfoy, taking in his quidditch robes.

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," Malfoy replied smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father bought our team."

Ron gaped at the broomsticks. Lee thought he would let in a few flies and discreetly gestured for him to close his mouth.

"Good, aren't they?" Malfoy said smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."

Lee whipped her head around to glare at Malfoy while the rest of the Slytherin team howled with laughter. She would love to snap all of those brooms!

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," Hermione stated sharply. "They got in on pure talent."

The smug look on Malfoy's face disappeared, replaced with a sneer.

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat.

Lee stormed towards Malfoy, a dangerous glare across her face. Alicia shrieked, "How dare you!",Fred and George would've pounced on him had Flint not jumped in front to shield him. Before Lee could get to Malfoy a loud bang echoed around the stadium and there was a jet of green light. Ron was thrown back and was now puking up slugs!

"Ron! Ron, are you all right?" Hermione squealed.

The Slytherin team was frozen with laughter. Malfoy was on all fours. Their laughing made her livid with anger, and she stood right in front of Malfoy.

"Get up!" Lee ordered.

He stood up, and the laughter on his face faltered when he saw Lee's scowl. Sarah could tell Lee was going to do something. Before she could go forward to stop her, Lee acted. She raised her hand and smacked Draco as hard as she could across the face.

"Don't you ever use that insult on my friends!" Lee practically shouted.

"C'mon Lee, you know I wouldn't use it with you," Draco defended.

Lee's eyes flashed with fury. "I don't care if you use it with me or not you little hypocrite! You'd better hope that the next time I hear you say it that I don't have my wand out!"

Everyone stared at Lee with wide eyes. None of them had ever seen her this mad before. Sarah stepped forward and pulled on Lee's arm.

"Lee, just step back and take a breath," Sarah suggested. "You know it's bad if I'm telling you to calm down."

Sarah steered Lee away from the pitch. As they were leaving the field, Lil' Nine nipped at the Slytherin team's ankles. They stopped at the lakeshore where Lee picked up a stick and threw it as hard as she could into the lake.

"Feeling better?" Sarah asked.

"No," Lee huffed. "I swear, that pig has got some nerve, telling people off for calling me a Mudblood and then turning around and using it on Hermione!"

"You're really ticked about this," she stated.

"Yes, I am," Lee confirmed. "Does it really surprise you? If I heard him call you or Harmony or Kaede that believe me, I wouldn't just slap him."

"What would you do to him?" Sarah prompted.

Lee took a moment to think. "I'd probably have Peat strangle him."

"You're really defensive of us," Sarah commented.

Lee didn't meet Sarah's eyes for a moment. "Old habits tend to die hard. Let's just say I'm still not used to this."

"Just take a deep breath," Sarah instructed. "You know what tends to happen when you're tense."

"I have better control of it now," Lee stated quietly. "Granted, they still shout in my head."

Lee slumped against the trunk of the tree on the shore. She stared off across the lake and Sarah could tell she was thinking. It seemed that their luck for the day only got worse as their new professor came strutting over toward them.

"Hello ladies," Professor Lockhart said gaily. "I see that you've been at the quidditch pitch. Did you know I would've played professional quidditch but I instead chose a path in the Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"I'm going to get my stuff from the locker room," Sarah announced quickly. "I'll be back in a moment."

With that, she vanished down the lawn and back toward the pitch. Lee moaned internally.

"She's such an odd girl," Lockhart stated.

Lee rounded on the professor, trying to hide the venom in her voice. "Sarah's not odd. She's one of the best witches you'll find in this school. Besides, you barely know her."

"She hardly ever pays attention in my class," Lockhart disagreed. "Which I really can't see why."

"It's because she knows that you're a completely incompetent teacher," she muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

While they were distracted, Lil' Nine jumped into the shallows of the lake, splashing water over the two of them. It clearly didn't sit well with Lockhart as he observed his robes. Sarah came walking back up the lawn in her normal clothes and smirked at the dragon.

"Oh no, they're ruined!" Lockhart cried.

Lee whistled at the tiny dragon. "Sorry about that. Lil' Nine is very playful, but he gets really messy."

"I thought you trained the dragons," Lockhart stated, small bits of anger evident in his voice.

"She trains them to be safe around humans," Sarah stated coldly. "What did you think 'train' meant? That they'd sit around like drones?"

"Never in a million years," Lee replied. She leaned closer and whispered to Sarah, "You're timing is impeccable."

Lee went back over to the tree and started pulling out her riding equipment. The two girls promptly forgot about Lockhart's existence.

"Going for a flight?" Sarah asked.

Lee nodded, scratching Lil' Nine's chin. "Yeah. Jewel and Aero Shield need their workouts. Peat can come out and watch Lil' Nine."

Lee released the said dragons and mounted Jewel quickly. Sarah sat against the tree and pulled out her sketchbook. Lockhart seemed agitated that he was being ignored and left. Sarah watched as Lee did loops and flips with her dragons. Peat and Lil' Nine were content to play in the shallows and Sarah doodled across her paper, sketching her own little creature to play with. It was like this for hours. Kaede and Harmony came out looking for them and joined Sarah on the lakeshore. As the dragons got tired, Lee landed next to them, leaning against Aero Shield's body.

"So, how was practice?" Kaede asked.

Sarah grimaced just a little, "It didn't go well. The Slytherin team raided the field, Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood and Lee slapped him across the face."

"You slapped Malfoy across the face?!" Harmony exclaimed.

"He ticked me off," Lee stated defensively. "He had it coming from a mile away."

"How hard did you hit him?" Kaede asked.

Lee thought for a moment, "Hard enough to leave his face red for at least a few minutes."

"You do realize they could get you into serious trouble," Harmony pointed out.

"Does it look like I care?" Lee asked rhetorically. "People in our house are trying to get me into trouble all the time, and I don't care about the stupid house points or detentions."

"You could try keeping your head down and not be so confrontational," Kaede suggested. "Maybe you wouldn't be so miserable in your house."

Lee relented with a sigh. The four sat by the tree before returning to the school for lunch. The rest of the day passed without much incident. The time passed quickly and October soon spread over the grounds. Madame Pomfrey was kept busy in the infirmary with cases of the cold popping up all over the castle. Sarah's constant visits for climbing injuries didn't help. Rain was pounding the castle for days, sending Lee into a depression, as she wasn't allowed out on her dragons during the storms. Sarah regretfully stated that Wood's spirit for the upcoming quidditch season had not been dampened by the rain.

"Wood's gone crazy!" Sarah groaned in frustration. "He'll be lucky if the entire team doesn't get sick with how much he's been having us practice in the rain!"

"At least you get to fly," Lee grumbled. "I swear, Aero Shield and Jewel look like their dead. If the sun doesn't come out soon, all three of us might fall asleep and never wake up."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Kaede pipped, bringing her head up from her homework. "It's just a little rain."

The two girls gave Kaede dead stares.

"It is not just a little rain," Lee moaned. "It's the very bane of our existence."

"Besides, you're content to stay here and do homework," Sarah added. "We need to be doing something active."

"You have been doing something active," Kaede countered.

"In good conditions," Sarah responded.

Lee flopped out of her chair and groaned. "Doesn't anyone at this school know a spell that makes the rain go away?!"

"Maybe I could draw it," Sarah suggested.

"Yes! Please!" Lee begged, her eyes lighting up.

"Absolutely not!" Kaede chided. "You two have very powerful, very strange magic that needs to remain secret. You can't just go and use it for such trivial purposes."

"It's not trivial! I need to get outside on one of my dragons or I'm gonna die!"

Kaede merely rolled her eyes before rebuking Lee again. "You're being overdramatic. You won't die. You, Aero Shield, and the others can last another day of rain."

Kaede wouldn't let Lee or Sarah moan about the weather any longer and buried her head back in her homework. Lee's head suddenly perked up when she remembered something they did last year.

"That means you have an idea," Sarah said sitting up quickly. "What is it?"

"Follow me," Lee ordered cheerfully.

The two went running down the corridors and up several flights of stairs. Lee didn't let up for a second. Sarah nearly ran into her when she suddenly stopped. There was nothing in front of them except a blank wall.

Sarah's eyes widened in realisation. "Oh. Why didn't we think of this earlier?"

"No idea, but we thought of it now," Lee replied, walking in front of the wall three times.

A large door appeared as Lee paced in front of the wall. They slipped in quickly to avoid any students or staff walking along the corridors. The room seemed to go on forever. There were climbing walls everywhere with ropes already set up. Lee let out Jewel and Aero Shield and mounted the Hashnat before Sarah could blink.

"Race to see who can get to the top of that wall first?" Lee asked, pointing to one of the climbing walls.

"You're on a dragon, you have an unfair advantage," Sarah pointed out.

"Please," Lee scoffed. "You climb faster than humanly possible. I'm sure you'd give Jewel a run for her money. Aero Shield would be a completely different case. C'mon Sarah! I'll even give you a ten second head start."

Sarah finally agreed and hooked herself into the ropes. Lee and Jewel sat at the side of the wall, waiting for her to start her ascent. She grabbed the first handhold and began internally counting. There was a whoosh of wings as soon as she reached ten. Sarah glanced below her and saw Jewel flying up fast. She began climbing even faster, trying to keep her lead. As soon as her hand reached the top she swung herself up, beating the dragon by a second.

"See?" Lee chuckled. "Told ya it would be a run for her money."

"I probably wouldn't have won if we started at the same time," Sarah stated.

Lee paused to consider Sarah's point before shaking her head. "Nah. You'd just climb faster."

Sarah rolled her eyes as Lee took off. Lee's depressed mood went away almost the second Jewel began doing twirls between the climbing walls. Sarah kept climbing up and down the pillars, occasionally hitching a ride from Lee before jumping onto the next one.

Harmony and Kaede sat in the library quietly, doing their homework; well, Kaede was, while Harmony was peace was interrupted when Malfoy came over to them and tapped Harmony on the shoulder.

"What do you need?" Harmony asked lazily.

"Do you know where Lee is? I really need to talk to her," Malfoy answered.

"Why? Did she not smack you hard enough the first time?" Kaede snapped, venom oozing from her voice. "Sarah told us about what happened."

"Lee's probably working off energy somewhere with Sarah," Harmony interjected. "We don't know where, but you should probably leave her alone."

Malfoy sulked off. Harmony raised a questioning eyebrow at Kaede. She was normally more level headed than that.

"What?" Kaede asked.

"That was very out of character for you," Harmony stated. "You sounded like you were ready to murder someone."

"Well he's got some nerve trying to get Lee's attention after what he said to Hermione," Kaede huffed. "Honestly, he deserved that slap and even more."

"I never said he didn't deserve it, but you're usually telling the others off for being mean," Harmony countered.

Kaede didn't have a response and just went back to her homework. Harmony glanced at her for a quick moment before attempting her own homework. Madame Pince had to kick them out as dinner rolled around. They trudged down to the Great Hall and met Sarah and Lee by the door; both seemed to be in much better spirits.

"I'm assuming you found out how to get some flying in," Kaede said with a small smile.

"Yeah. We went to the Room of Requirement," Lee replied. "Did you get all your homework done?"

"More or less," Harmony answered. "Though Draco came looking for you. Kaede bit his head off as soon as he said he was looking for you."

"You snapped at Malfoy?" Sarah asked in disbelief. "I never thought it would be possible for you to snap at someone."

"In Lee's words, 'he had it coming a mile away'," Kaede stated. "I don't regret what I said."

"Why don't we talk about this later," Lee suggested. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

The four entered the Great Hall and left for their house tables. Dinner seemed to be like any other day. Harmony and Lee were ignored by the other slytherins, Sarah and Kaede were chatting at the house tables and the ceiling still reflected the stormy weather outside.

"Halloween's coming soon," Harmony stated, trying to start conversation.

"Yup, I'm hoping it's not as chaotic as it was last year," Lee replied casually. "It'll be nice to spend it with the gang."

Harmony paused for a brief moment before she happily squealed. "The day after Halloween was when you got Jewel! It'll be like an anniversary!"

"More like a Gotcha Day," Lee said with a smile. "Please don't squeal again, that hurt my ears. Besides, why are you so excited? It's my dragon."

"I don't know. I guess because that's the day you started your family," Harmony answered. "Also, anniversaries mean cake."

Lee rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the food on her plates. Harmony's last statement rang through her head. The day she started her family...Lee had to admit that that was what her dragons were to her. They were her family. She glanced back up at Harmony then her brow creased.

"Harmony, are you okay?" Lee asked warily.

Harmony couldn't say anything. She was trembling like she was having a seizure! Lee placed a on Harmony's arm only to flinch in pain. Harmony's skin was burning! No one else seemed to notice. Lee resisted the urge to scream for Professor Dumbledore. No one was paying attention, maybe she could risk it and hope it would work. Lee took one last glance at everyone. Her eyes turned completely white and a silver mist appeared in her hand. Lee pressed her hand to Harmony's arm and felt the heat pass. Harmony's shaking stopped, and she seemed to be shaken out of a trance.

"Harmony, are you okay?" Lee asked again, her eyes returning to normal.

"What happened?" Harmony replied, shaking her head.

"You were shaking, and your skin was burning," Lee explained. "You weren't saying anything."

Harmony's eyes darted to other places in the Hall besides Lee's gaze. "I'm fine. It shouldn't happen again."

"Say that and look me in the eye," Lee ordered.

"I'm fine," she replied defiantly. "It's nothing to worry about."

Before she could push any further, Harmony stood up from the table and left the hall. Lee turned toward the Ravenclaw table and caught Kaede's gaze. Something wasn't right and the both of them knew it.


	4. Enemies of the Heir

**Chapter 4A: Enemies of the Heir**

The days went by quickly. Lee spent more time outside flying. After spending so much time on her dragons, she finally let Sarah try flying with her on Aero Shield. Their classes with Lockhart hadn't improved. Instead of teaching spells, Professor Dim-Wit, as the four had began calling him, took to reenacting his adventures for the class. Lee's discussion with Professor Dumbledore hadn't resulted in anything changing; they still had to sit through his classes.

"Why did Dumbledore hire him in the first place?" Sarah groaned as they left yet another DADA class.

"Because Lockhart was the _only _person that even applied for the position," Lee answered. "I'd give anything to have Quirrell back. At least _he_ taught us something."

"You would prefer the guy that had Voldemort in the back of his head to Professor Dim-Wit?" Harmony asked in disbelief. "Well now you know Lockhart's _really_ bad."

They walked down to the library and met Kaede, who was doing her potions essay. They took seats at her table and pulled out their homework.

"So, I'm assuming your classes were dull, as usual," Kaede stated, not glancing up from her book.

"Yup. By the way, you're going to be watching Lockhart reenact his defeat of some werewolf," Sarah replied, pulling out her star charts from astronomy. "Kaede, can you check this for me? I can never remember Jupiter's moons."

They fell into the routine. Each of them doing their homework and asking for another to check it. Harmony passed Lee her History of Magic essay. As she glanced at the notes she shook her head.

"Harmony, how did you pass this class last year?" Lee joked.

"I didn't," Harmony replied. "Well I did, but just barely."

"It's a miracle that anybody passes that class," Sarah stated. "Professor Binns is so boring."

Lee reviewed the notes, correcting Harmony when needed. Eventually, they all went down to Great Hall. It was bedecked with floating pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. The four separated to their tables and began enjoying the Halloween feast. It seemed that last year's events would not be repeating themselves. As it came to a close everyone made their way back to the common rooms, only for a horrible event to be revealed.

Lee and Harmony were walking with the crowd of Slytherins when everything came to a halt. Harmony quickly pushed Lee to an alcove away from the crowd, but the sight was absolutely horrid. Filch's cat was hanging by its tail, completely frozen. The writing on the wall was even more disturbing.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN

OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!"

Both of them recognized the voice as Malfoy's, but Lee was too shocked to be furious with the little worm and Harmony was focused on the writing. The drama only escalated as Filch, probably drawn by Malfoy's declaration, came hobbling in. His outrage was instantly announced as he began advancing on someone. Lee's eyes widened when she saw that it was Harry. Couldn't that boy stay out of trouble?! Dumbledore soon arrived and quickly took control of the scene. He directed Harry, Ron, Hermione and some of the staff to Lockhart's office, taking the cat with them. The crowd began dispersing and Lee left the alcove to follow.

"Lee, what are you doing?" Harmony asked, bewildered. "We aren't needed and we should probably get to bed."

"They might need some help," Lee said with a shrug. "I might be able to provide some assistance."

Harmony rolled her eyes and followed her. The two made it into Lockhart's office to hear Filch's sobs and some of Lockhart's mumblings about Transmorgrifian Torture. The two dismissed his ramblings and Lee walked up to the desk next to Dumbledore.

"Sir," Lee said calmly. "Might I be able to offer my special set of skills?"

"Yes, that would be greatly appreciated, Ms. Lee," Dumbledore answered. "An outside opinion would be most helpful."

Lee looked over Mrs. Norris as critically as she could. There were no fang or claw marks. It wasn't a physical attack, but she didn't know what kind of magic could have possibly done this. Dumbledore straightened up and addressed Mr. Filch.

"She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.

"Not dead?" Filch choked, peeking through his fingers at his cat. "But why's she all- all stiff and frozen."

"She has been petrified," Dumbledore said. "But how, I cannot say…."

"Ask _him!_" Filch shrieked, turning his face to Harry.

"No second year could have done this," Dumbledore stated firmly. "It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced-"

Filch began protesting vigorously. He pointed out the writing on the wall, and said that Harry found out he was a Squib and about a Kwikspell letter. Harry defended himself, saying that he didn't even know what a Squib was. Lee was about to jump to Harry's defense when Snape spoke up.

"If I might speak Headmaster," Snape said from the shadows. "Potter and his friends may have simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Lee's face must've shown her confusion. Snape standing up for Harry? He _despised _Harry! Snape's mouth curled into a slight sneer as he continued.

"But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron launched into an explanation about something called a Deathday party. Harmony noticed the small smile that Lee tried to hide as they frantically tried to provide their alibis.

"But why not join the feast afterwards?" Snape questioned. "Why go up to that corridor?"

"Because- because-" Harry said shakily. "Because we were tired and wanted to go to bed."

At that point, Lee zoned out. Snape would keep the questioning going until he could find something that would get Harry in trouble. She kept staring at the cat. There had to be something she was missing.

"This certainly is a mystery," Cora whispered giddily.

Lee bit her tongue and resisted the urge to pull her mirror out. She certainly didn't want Lockhart to see it, or any of the other people. She was forced to do this conversation completely in her head, which meant a splitting headache could erupt any moment.

"You could merely use your magic and then the cat would be just fine," Alban suggested.

"That would raise too many questions that I don't even know the answers to," Lee replied. "Now please shush. I can't think if you two are distracting me."

Her eyes kept searching for anything. There was _nothing_! What could possibly attack without leaving a trace?! The words on the wall passed through her thought. 'Enemies of the Heir beware'. What was the Heir? Malfoy said something about muggle-borns being the next targets. What if the next victim was going to be a human?! Filch's furious shrieks pulled her out of her head.

"My cat has been Petrified!" He shrieked, his eyes popping out of his head. "I want to see some _punishment!_"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore said patiently. "Professor Sprout managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep-"

"Excuse me," Snape interrupted icily. "But I believe _I _am the Potions Master at this school."

There was a very awkward pause in the room. Harmony and Lee glanced between the two professors. They sided with Snape on this one.

"You may go," Dumbledore dismissed Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

As soon as they shut the door Lee broke her gaze on the cat and turned to Dumbledore.

"Professor, what kind of magic has the ability to do this?" She asked.

"Very dark magic," Dumbledore answered. "If the writing was indeed correct, then there is a possibility of it being a horrible creature."

"I'm sure I could apprehend it. I've handled many dangerous beasts," Lockhart boasted.

Lee rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Says the guy that thought the cat was killed using Transmorgrifian Torture."

"Miss Lee!" Mcgonagall scolded. "Do not talk to your professor in such a manner. Fifteen points from Slytherin."

"Apologies," Lee replied carelessly. "I'm just saying that this might require more than Professor Di- I mean Professor Lockhart's notable skills."

Harmony glanced at Lee with an unamused expression. Lee just gave a small shrug and returned to the conversation at hand.

"Whatever the case may be, Lee provides a fair point," Snape stated.

"If there's any possibility that it's a magical creature I'm sure I could figure out how to find it," Lee interjected. "Everything leaves a trail. Sarah could also help. She's one of the best trackers I know."

"I hardly think two second years would be up to this kind of challenge," Lockhart scoffed. "This clearly requires a professional."

"Technically I am a professional," Lee deadpanned.

"Unless it becomes absolutely necessary, I will not implore you and Ms. Blitz to investigate," Dumbledore interjected firmly. "I do not wish to put any student in harm's way."

Lee gave an affirmative nod and took that as her cue to leave. Harmony followed her and they proceeded down to the Slytherin common room. She had a very unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What's bugging you?" Harmony inquired.

"Malfoy said the next people to be attacked would be muggle-borns," Lee stated. "I'm worried that one of us might get attacked. Sarah and you are muggle-borns and I'm a presumed muggle-born. The risk doesn't sit well with me."

"You are scared of a risk? I thought you lived to take risks," Harmony joked.

"I take calculated risks," she replied seriously. "This one has too many unknown factors for my taste."

Sarah couldn't stop pacing the Gryffindor common room. Malfoy's words rang in her head and the frozen figure of Mrs. Norris was stuck in her head. Fred had tried to get her to calm down, and normally she would've. It wasn't like her to let people see that she was nervous or anxious. She could just imagine her father roaring at her for being so weak. Sarah shook away that thought and returned to the current problem.

"Sarah, don't worry, I'm sure everything's fine," Fred said calmingly.

"He said that the muggle‐borns were next," Sarah stated shakily. "_Harmony's_ a muggle-born, _Lee's_ a presumed muggle-born, _I'm _a muggle-born. I can't calm down knowing that my friends are going to be targets!"

"We won't let anything happen to you or your friends," George pipped. "Ain't that right Fredie?"

"Of course," Fred replied confidently. "Besides, Dumbledore and the other professors will make sure everybody's safe."

"I trust Dumbledore and the other staff, but do you really think I find comfort in knowing that Professor Dim-Wit is one of the people watching me?"

The two twins chuckled at Sarah's statement. They always snickered when they heard Lockhart's nickname. Seeing Fred laugh at a joke always managed to to get Sarah to calm down. She took a deep breath and sat in an armchair in front of the fire.

"Are you sure they'll be okay?" Sarah asked uncertainly.

"You and your friends are the toughest people in Hogwarts," Fred answered. "You'll be fine."

No one talked about anything else but the attack for days. It didn't help ease Sarah's nerves, though people saw the affect more on Lee and Kaede's nerves than her's. Lee refused to leave the subject alone and found the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. She came running into the Room of Requirement with her bag slung over her shoulder. Sarah pushed a beanbag chair into a corner and Lee collapsed in it before pulling out her History of Magic book.

"How did you even fit that in your trunk with everything else?" Kaede questioned. "I could barely hold anything with those Lockhart books."

"You'd be surprised how empty my trunk is," Lee stated absently.

Sarah raised a questioning eyebrow at Lee, but she was buried in her book, flipping page after page.

"Aha!" Lee exclaimed happily. "I found the right chapter!"

"What exactly were you looking for?" Sarah inquired.

Lee rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. "The legend about the Chamber of Secrets."

"Why are you looking into the legend of something that's probably going to kill you?" Harmony asked.

"How exactly are we supposed to protect ourselves if we don't know what we're protecting ourselves from?" Lee countered.

Lee's eyes skimmed over the pages of her book about six times before she began to explain it to the others.

"So it says that the founders were seeking out the children developing their magical powers and bringing them to the school, but one founder thought they weren't being selective enough," Lee stated.

"Three guesses which founder it was," Sarah grumbled.

"It was Salazar Slytherin, of course," Kaede pipped with an eyeroll.

"He thought the muggle-born children would spill all the wizarding secrets," Lee continued. "Slytherin apparently made a secret chamber in the school and sealed a monster inside to one day purge the school of muggle-borns when his heir returned to the school."

"They've probably searched the entire school top to bottom," Sarah stated. "You'd've thought they could find it."

"Well, it said that it couldn't be opened until Slytherin's heir returned to the school," Kaede pointed out. "So if this is the first time Slytherin's heir has returned to the school then this is probably the first time the chamber's existence has been confirmed."

"What do you think's in the chamber Lee?" Harmony asked.

Lee puffed her cheeks out in slight frustration. "I have no idea. I've been looking over everything and I can't find anything!"

A sudden spark came from her fingers, making everyone jump. They all gave Lee scolding glares.

"Oops," Lee said apologetically.

"I thought you said you had better control," Kaede scolded. "We can't have magic sparking from your fingers every time you're aggravated."

"Well...It's better than last year," Lee replied. "Besides, look at Sarah's magic."

"Don't drag me into this!" Sarah exclaimed. "_My _magic only manifests in my drawings."

"You both need to learn to control it," Kaede interjected sternly.

"Back to the current topic?" Harmony asked timidly. "Are any of you going to try and find this thing?"

"If Dumbledore hadn't explicitly said 'no', I would," Lee answered. "I don't think I'll try anything unless there's another attack."

"I say we should find that thing now before it has a chance to attack a second time," Sarah inserted. "I don't want to sit by and wait for it to hurt a student."

"There's not much else we can do," Lee replied. "Dumbledore said he wasn't going to risk any students for that unless it was absolutely necessary. Even then I doubt he'd let us investigate."

"We should decide if we want to take that risk," Sarah debated.

"He's in charge of our safety," Lee countered. "What happens if one of us gets petrified or _killed?_ That's not put on us, it's put on Dumbledore and I don't think he wants to face that guilt if we get hurt."

"Where did you learn to read people?" Kaede questioned in surprise.

"It's not that different from reading dragons, in fact, humans are easier to read," Lee replied.

They stayed in the Room of Requirement until the end of their break. Kaede and Sarah went to their DADA class while Harmony and Lee departed for transfiguration. Sarah had long since given up on trying to pay attention to Lockhart's lessons. Ever since the pixie fiasko he reenacted scenes from his books, using Harry as a character every other day. Today he was going on about how he cured the Wagga Wagga Werewolf.

"He is utterly incompetent," Kaede whispered.

"I thought we already established that on the first day," Sarah replied.

"We did, but now I swear he _must _be pulling facts from his butt," Kaede stated. "Anyone who has a decent amount of brain cells knows that there's no known cure for Lycanthropy."

Sarah raised a questioning eyebrow at Kaede. "Where did you find this exactly?"

"Last year Lee was looking into an area that was common for werewolf sightings" she answered. "I decided to look into the topic for her and see if there were any useful spells she could use in case she came across one."

The bell rang and the two rushed to get out of the classroom. They went to the Charms classroom and met Lee and Harmony. Now that their classes were over for the day they were planning on going to visit Hagrid. When they reached his hut Sarah knocked a pattern on the door.

"Comin' Sarah!" Hagrid called from inside.

The door opened promptly and Hagrid beamed down at the four of them.

"I wasn' expectin' you te bring everyone," he said cheerfully.

"We all wanted to come see you," Lee replied.

He brought them all inside and they took seats around his giant table. Hagrid began making some tea and offered them some of his rock cakes.

"So, Sarah, Lee, are ye ready fer the Quidditch match tomorrow?" Hagrid asked.

"I'm ready, but I just might 'forget' my broom and have to use a school one," Lee answered, putting air quotes around the 'forget'.

"I'm ready for the Gryffindor team to kick some Slytherin butt," Sarah pipped. "I want to wash the smug look off of Flint's face."

"You and me both," Lee agreed.

"Yer on the Slytherin team," Hagrid interjected, puzzled.

Lee let out a groan. "I really wish I wasn't. I can barely stand them and I wish I could hit them all upside the head with my bat."

"Your sacrifice for the good of the other teams is greatly appreciated," Sarah said gratefully.

"Besides, I'm sure you'll have fun trying to out beat the other beaters," Kaede added.

They wandered from the topic of Quidditch and stayed at Hagrid's until it was time for dinner. The last hours of the day flew by and they ignored the normal buzz of the Great Hall. They each peacefully sank into a quiet slumber.

**A/N: So, I've gotten some DM's about OC's and other stuff in regards to the quartet. Firstly, I'm so happy that some of my work inspired some of you to create your own characters, second off, I'd love to see and hear more about your work. Also, please leave a review. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the fic. Thanks!**


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